No BlackBerry injunction today: here's what this means

U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer has stopped short of ordering an immediate shutdown of millions of BlackBerry portable e-mail devices made by Research In Motion Ltd.

But Judge James Spencer said there was no escaping that RIM had been found to be infringing on NTP Inc.'s patents and he would issue a decision on an injunction "as soon as reasonably possible."

"In plain words, the case should have been settled, but it hasn't, so I have to deal with that reality," Spencer said.

So what does this mean?

Sounds like he granted a stay without formally granting one. Or, to put it another way, he wanted to signal to all parties that he is running out of patience and to get on with settling things.

Also today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued their final rejection of another NTP patent. Details here.